'Toon Reviews 16: Hey Arnold Season 3 Episode 11: Phoebe Takes the Fall/The Pig War

Phoebe Takes the Fall

While many things in life bring on Helga’s mean behavior, one of the few things that show her good side is her friendship with Phoebe.  A few cartoons have shown that there’s some good heart between these characters.  Sure, there are times where Helga would take advantage of Phoebe’s generosity, but Helga plays her part in making this friend pairing work.  Whether it’s encouragement to keep going with something new, or comfort when things go wrong, there’s a clear genuineness between them which is especially great for someone like Helga.  This cartoon continues the trend. 

Phoebe’s intellect is a main subject when she and Helga end up competing against each other in a PS 118 Academic Bowl.  Because Phoebe answers the questions better than anyone else in the first round, she’s the student who will most likely win.  That’s when Helga taking advantage of her takes over when she begs her to take the fall in the next round secluded from everyone else.  Despite her restrained tone towards Phoebe as opposed to her usual aggressive authority she gives everyone else, you may think Helga’s being inconsiderate here.  Technically she is, but when it comes to winning competitions, she has a lot of pressure to do so since her home life consists of her parents giving more attention to her older sister for being so accomplished, so Helga’s actions are at least understandable.  Even then, the Academic Bowl is a competition that even Olga couldn’t win, so her parents don’t even pressure Helga into winning, so Helga’s less justified for asking Phoebe to blow the Academic Bowl for her in this regard.  However, it’s believable that Helga’s drive for generally one-upping her perfect sister would exist anyway. 

So, Phoebe’s will to please her friend’s wishes pulls through as she lets Helga win the Academic Bowl win the competition by having her answer a question she knew, and puts herself through intense quizzing sessions to help Helga prepare for the championship although she gets extremely tired.  This combined with Arnold pointing it out to Helga brings out what makes the friendship worth getting behind.  Although Helga has become prepared enough to win the competition, she does have genuine guilt about making Phoebe lose on purpose that grows following Arnold telling her about Phoebe’s exhaustion.  There’s even a surreal dream sequence where while answering questions in front of a grey audience and Arnold suddenly appears making Helga question if she really deserves to be there. 

In the present, while it takes until the night of the championship, it’s still nice that Helga decides that her best friend is more important than boosting her ego.  This makes for a great sequence of Phoebe giving a strong performance in the championship as Helga’s alternate, winning by answering the question that blew Olga’s chances of winning, and even Arnold giving Helga subtle praise for doing the right thing to make the moment happen.  It goes to show that the character relationships present bring out the best in who’s involved. 

It’s debatable how much tolerance you can give the catalysts of what happens, but everything still comes together as something good. 9/10

The Pig War

For any animated series, including slice of life shows like this, creative concepts are always welcome.  Animation is a where anyything can be drawn or planned out and all characters can fit the actions and emotions.  This cartoon is an example of this which also benefits from historical context. 

The historical event referenced is one most people probably don’t know in which the US and the UK were fighting over ownership of San Juan with a war breaking out after an American farmer killed a British pig who wandered into his garden.  The war brought in ships of larger armies, all over a pig mind you which resulted in the island becoming completely American owned.  That historical context is used point-for-point here except San Juan is replaced with the show’s own Elk Island, so this cartoon already gets interesting points for giving light to a not often discussed war. 

The strengths of animation come in when Grandpa announces that he signed up Arnold and his friends for a reenactment of the Pig War as well as Abner as the respective pig.  The kids in battle attire and stationing themselves on the site give a unique perspective to a reenactment of a war and are a special kind of engaging with a childlike feel.  Also captured well is the comedy of the banter between some of the characters especially Grandpa and his old British rival, Rex Smythe-Higgins, who are just as enjoyable arguing as they were in Rex’s first appearance. 

While the approach to the war reenactment is charming, it’s also impressive how there’s seriousness to the scenario with genuine worry about what this could mean for Arnold’s pet.  There’s something suspicious about Abner taking part in a reenactment of a war where a pig is killed, so it’s easy to believe something bad will happen to him even when Grandpa says that the pig will only get a little greased.  However, following a fast-paced, yet slightly sloppily animated, chase scene for Abner, the British capture him and take him back to their camp to roast him since the rules say that can be done with the pig.  It’s a bit concerning for how neglectful of the rules Grandpa was since he really should’ve paid more attention for the sake of his grandson’s pet.  At least it’s lightened by his clear regret and Arnold not holding a grudge as the gang sets out to rescue Abner. 

In their attempts, animation’s versatility is on display again. There’s a creative concept of the American team using a pig-themed Trojan Horse trick to get into the British team’s fort, humorous interactions between Rex and the kids on letting them in, and shots of an intricate device to roast Abner in use while a battle in which everyone is armed with water guns ensues.  There’s even a scene to show that not all in the opposing team is bad when Rex’s grandson, Rex Smythe-Higgins III, helps Arnold save his pet just in time giving the climax a lot of feels from laughs, to suspense, to surprise, to relief.  Everything ends with solid character-based comedy from Rex III explaining his betrayal to his grandfather and Grandpa trying to convince Arnold to do the reenactment again next year right into the credits. 

This leaves us with an interesting take on an interpretation of a lesser-known historic battle with creative and charming scenarios and humorous character interactions with enough room for suspense and heart. It’s one look at history you’ll never forget. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Helga Blabs it All
2. Harold the Butcher
3. Crabby Author
4. Mr. Hyunh Goes Country
5. Helga Vs. Big Patty
6. Hey Harold!
7. Curly Snaps
8. The Aptitude Test
9. Pre-Teen Scream
10. The Pig War
11. Olga Gets Engaged
12. Oskar Gets a Job
13. Phoebe Takes the Fall
14. Career Day
15. Gerald’s Tonsils
16. Rich Kid
17. Dangerous Lumber
18. Casa Paradiso
19. Arnold’s Room
20. Helga and the Nanny
21. Stinky Goes Hollywood
22. Arnold Betrays Iggy

The next Hey Arnold review features the return of Coach Wittenberg and his wife Tish as they attempt to remarry, and you're invited to a geek party which accepts everyone in Arnold's neighborhood as opposed to Rhonda's cool party which only invites "cool" kids.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is a look into a Voltron: Legendary Defender episode that introduces "The Blade of Marmora."

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